New York City Leads Statewide Jobs Surge

New York City’s job market bounced back in October to lead the state’s biggest single month of job gains since April 2005.

The city’s unemployment rate fell to 9.2% last month, compared with 9.3% in September and last year’s high of 10.5%, the New York State Labor Department reported Thursday. The city’s unemployment rate remained below the national figure of 9.6%.

“The city numbers were quite strong,” said James Brown, an economist with the Labor Department. “We have been seeing stronger job growth in the city than the state as a whole.”

New York City added 41,900 jobs in October, Brown said — more than double the 10-year historical average of 18,700 jobs added during the month. October’s gains follow a disappointing September when the city lost thousands of jobs.

Education, professional and business services and health care were among the big job-gaining sectors in October, according to Brown. Leisure and hospitality were among the few sectors where jobs were cut.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, New York state added 40,500 private-sector jobs in October, the most the state has had in five years, according to the state Labor Department. The government added about 100 jobs in New York. Despite the big job gains, the state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.3%.

The number of unemployed people in New York state dropped to 797,800 in October from 798,600 in the previous month, but it remains relatively high. About 480,900 New Yorkers collected unemployment.

Staffing firms noted that many employers in New York are hiring workers they initially brought on a temporary basis. “Most of the folks that we talked to indicated they will have increased hiring next year,” said Andrew Reina, regional director of financial planning and analysis for Ajilon Finance Solutions, a specialty recruiting and staffing firm.

Many of those companies are seeking workers with specialized skills, such as financial firms looking for workers to help them navigate through new financial-reform laws, Reina said.

Everyday Health, a New York City company that manages a portfolio of health-related websites, is one local employer that plans to add several employees next year. The company launched in 2002 out of a kitchen in Brooklyn, said Benjamin Wolin, the company’s chief executive and co-founder.

Now Everyday Health employs about 275 workers in its New York office. And the company continues to grow.

Earlier this year, the company relocated from Brooklyn to a bigger space in Manhattan. The company hired about 50 people in 2010 and expects to add an additional 50 to 100 computer developers, salespeople and editorial contributors. “The driver is the growth in the overall business,” Wolin said.

On Wednesday, New Jersey’s Department of Labor reported that the state’s jobless rate fell to 9.2%, down from the previous month’s rate of 9.4%. Connecticut’s unemployment figures are due next Monday.